An employee of the Macy's store in the Glendale Galleria was arrested this week on suspicion of using the identification numbers of other employees to credit several thousand dollars in refunds to her own credit cards, police said. Armine Tonikyan, 31, of Glendale was taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of embezzlement after a Macy's loss prevention worker turned her over to police officers. Tonikyan, who had been working at the store since 2012, allegedly used her personal credit cards to purchase merchandise, including purses and pots, and then performed fraudulent returns on her accounts, said Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed additional action to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation into embezzlement allegations against campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee. The Fair Political Practices Commission will also give those candidates affected some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements after attorneys for some politicians said Friday that their records have been withheld by banks and expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

A North Glendale home that has changed hands four times in the last three years is just one member of a cast of characters involved in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Pasadena's Huntington Memorial Hospital. The home on Oakmont View Drive at one point belonged to David Hamedany, 56, a former director of construction at Huntington Hospital who is now serving a three-year sentence for his part in defrauding the institution of nearly $5 million in donor funds. He has also been ordered to repay the hospital $4.8 million.

The head of the state's ethics agency Friday proposed new measures to prevent fraud in the handling of political funds in response to a federal investigation of Kinde Durkee, who is suspected of embezzling from campaign accounts she controlled. In addition, Fair Political Practices Commission Chairwoman Ann Ravel said politicians affected by the investigation would receive some leeway in meeting financial reporting requirements. Attorneys for politicians told Ravel at a hearing near the Capitol on Friday that financial records needed to make those reports have been withheld by banks, and they expressed concern that other needed documents possessed by Durkee have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

GLENDALE — Two Los Angeles residents arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud a Citibank branch in Glendale of $30,000 on Monday will be arraigned Glendale Superior Court next month, police said. Shelly Yun, 52, and Lance Kim, 47, were arrested Monday at the Citibank on the 400 block of North Central Avenue after bank officers flagged Yun's loan application for possible fraud, police said. Yun applied for a $60,000 unsecured loan at the Glendale branch in March as a line of credit for two fictitious businesses supposedly based in North Carolina, according to police reports.

GLENDALE ? The president of Soroptimist International of the Verdugos said the club will continue to rally around longtime member Stephanie Mines, despite the community volunteer being found guilty more than a week ago of a felony fraud-related charge. Mines pleaded no contest on May 16 in Pasadena Superior Court to artificially inflating her bank account balance with the intent to defraud. She was sentenced to three years? probation and ordered to complete 240 hours of community service, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney?

Police raided their home recovering thousands of dollars of stolen merchandise.GLENDALE -- A Glendale couple accused of using their business to commit fraud victimized more than 100 local residents out of at least $10,000, police said, adding that most of the victims were Department of Motor Vehicles customers. Karen and Tatevik Mkrtchian, both 35, were arrested Sept. 23, after police raided their Myrtle Street home and Glenoaks Boulevard business, recovering thousands of dollars worth of potentially stolen merchandise and hundreds of credit cards, Glendale Police Sgt. Brian Cohen said.

PASADENA — A 49-year-old South Pasadena woman was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding five Glendale residents who tried obtain residency status for themselves and their family. Pasadena Superior Court Judge Janice Croft also ordered Aileen Sevajian to pay $62,800 in restitution to the victims, who paid her to help gain residency in the United States. Sevajian was convicted June 26 on seven counts -- six of which were felony grand theft charges -- and a misdemeanor count of posing as an immigration consultant.

Glendale resident Rafael Parsadanyan was one of three men who were found guilty on Thursday of bank fraud and stealing the identities of hundreds of 99 Cents Only store customers . The other two men, Mher Darbinyan and Arman Sharopetrosian, were also found guilty for their roles in the scam. They reportedly had ties to an organized crime ring called Armenian Power. Prosecutors said Darbinyan obtained credit-card skimming devices and distributed to co-schemers who would then secretly plant them at 99 Cents Only stores across Southern California, resulting in a loss of more than $2 million for victims.

Jurors have started deliberating in the case of a Glendale man accused of bank fraud and stealing the identities of hundreds of 99 Cents Only store customers. Glendale resident Rafael Parsadanyan is one of three men, including Mher Darbinyan and Arman Sharopetrosian, on trial for their roles in the fraud schemes, which were reportedly tied to an organized crime ring called Armenian Power. But Parsadanyan's attorney Andrew Flier argued that his client, who owned a cellphone store and reportedly has no gang ties, is innocent and lumped in with the other defendants.

A Glendale man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he attempted to defraud Medicare by submitting more than $11 million in bogus claims for unnecessary medical services. Karen Sarkissian, 43, and L' Tanya Smith, 57, of Ladera Park, were arrested Wednesday in connection with the scheme, which authorities said is also tied to money-laundering and tax-fraud operations, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Sarkissian reportedly operated Sunset Clinic in Echo Park and was working with Smith, who also pleaded not guilty.

Having once lived in New York state, I discovered it had a straightforward way of ensuring that drivers were insured. Every year in order to renew your car's registration you were required to submit proof of insurance and smog certification. You then received a very large sticker that was prominently placed on the driver's side windshield that could be easily detected from a great distance. The sticker changed color each year which aided law enforcement to quickly identify whether you belonged on the road or not. New York charges the same road-usage fee for your car registration whether you drive a BMW or a beat-up Chevy.

A 52-year-old Glendale man was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $9.8 million to families, some of whom lost their life savings when they unwittingly participated in his three separate scams, including a Ponzi scheme. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson described Kaveh Vahedi's Ponzi scam as “one of the most heartbreaking, vicious fraud schemes” that he has ever seen. Before Vahedi's sentencing, Pregerson said he read letters from victims, who as a result of Vahedi's scams suffered failed marriages, panic attacks, anxiety, thoughts of suicide and struggles with feeding their families.

A woman who ran an apparent bogus business in Glendale was arrested this week after she allegedly defrauded elderly victims who paid her to help them get Section 8 housing vouchers to avoid a long waiting list, police said. Naira Shakhmuradyan was taken into custody Tuesday at her Van Nuys home on an outstanding warrant stemming from the fraud investigation, according to Glendale police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot. “We believe there are many more victims that have not reported the theft-fraud,” she said.

Six Glendale and Burbank residents were arrested Thursday in an alleged massive tax and bank fraud ring that resulted in the Internal Revenue Service paying more than $7 million in refunds for bogus claims - some of which were issued for deceased individuals. The local residents were among 55 defendants named in four grand jury indictments alleging they stole the identities of more than 2,000 people to claim in excess of $20 million in fraudulent IRS tax refunds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego.

The Rite Aid store at the Americana at Brand may have closed, but the convenience store's corporate parent is still pursuing litigation against the mega-shopping center. Thrifty Payless Inc., Rite Aid's parent company, is suing Americana at Brand LLC in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claiming fraud because the property taxes and fees charged to Rite Aid substantially exceeded the Americana's estimates, according to court documents. Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower said via email on Tuesday that company officials made a “business decision” to close the store in the Americana at Brand on Aug. 24. “Despite our continuing efforts over several years and desire to do so, we were no longer able to continue operating at this location due to the exorbitant and ever increasing occupancy costs,” she said.

Officials this week approved another six-figure grant to help pay for real estate fraud investigations in Glendale, where victims lost more than $1.6 million to related scams last fiscal year alone, officials said. Real estate fraud can often cause severe trauma to victims - some of whom aren't aware that they are signing their homes away or that someone has taken out a loan on their property, essentially stripping its equity, Glendale Police Det. Shawn Milligan said. In some cases, victims lose their homes and have to hire attorneys to prove that they are the bona fide owners.